time flies when you're being a mum

World Food Day - what will you give up?!

I mentioned in my last blog post that we went to a Harvest Festival where all the food was being given to the local foodbank. I listened to some of the stories of people suffering right on my doorstep, and so often it is young parents struggling to feed their small children. Their Reuben or their Gabriella. It really struck a chord with me and made me realise that as I sit in my relative lap of luxury, chosing which organic brand to buy, I need to do more for my local community. I have since sourced out my local foodbank and been in touch with the organisers to see how I can help. This is what I found out…

Last year the Trussel Trust helped 350,000 people with emergency food. Almost half were children.

Did you know 1 in 5 UK mums are skipping meals to feed children? It’s unbelievable. And, as I live in one of the poorest areas of the North East, I can imagine this statistic is even higher, especially as there isn’t a local foodbank here. The closest one is 15 miles away in Newcastle.

The people they are helping are literally at their last resort. They aren’t just tipping up here rather than going shopping. They have nowhere else to go. And, I can imagine it isn’t the best feeling in the world having to go to a foodbank in order to feed your children. But happily, foodbanks around the country are doing more than just giving people emergency food, they are helping them get back on the right track.

Give it up for Foodbanks

When I got in touch with Molly, the Trussell Trust PR and Markerting Manager, yesterday she quickly sent me information about something happening NEXT WEEK! I didn’t realise I’d be able to help so soon.

Give it up for Foodbanks is their appeal in line with next week’s World Food Day on 16th October. They aren’t asking you to give them a round of applause, they want you to actually give something up! Either for the day (such as you daily cappuccino) or for the week (such as cake or chocolate – see they’re doing you a favour!). Whatever money you save, you give to your foodbank. Easy! and better for you.

COMMENTS

you just made me feel bad…I’ve just written a post on organic veg box schemes lol…makes my decisions about organic food seem silly now! haha.

Thanks for making me realize how lucky I am to be able to choose….it was really difficult in my student days and I couldn’t imagine being that cash strapped again with a child! heart breaking. I will make a donation to my local food bank this week after reading this!

Don’t feel bad about your food decisions though – I thoroughly believe in the importance of eating organic food. It’s better for you, your family and the environment. And, since we have the luxury of being able to buy it, we should, because the more we buy it, the more mainstream it will become. Making it more widely available for everyone!…if that makes sense?!

We’ve been trying to grow as many vegetables as possible over the last couple of years – seeds are really cheap and our children love tending the plants and watching them grow. We don’t have a garden so use pots etc, but it really can help i think in terms of health, fun things to do, learning about where some foods come from, and saving money when many of us are struggling. The easiest are potatoes, carrots and beans – great foodstuffs, but probably the wrong time of year to mention!!… just thought would mention as you were discussing organic foods and food banks x

Thanks Gayle! I used to love growing veg but haven’t done it for years – I think a combination of busyness/laziness and tiny north facing yards has put me off! But even in tiny spaces with no sun you can still do it and Gabby loves doing things like that, and I’m sure Reuben would too. Well, he does really like playing with/eating mud 🙂 hxx

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